Kerry James Caleb Odell Heartland

Who Is Kerry James? 8 Facts About the Caleb Odell Actor on Heartland

If you are a big Heartland fan, you probably know who Kerry James is and need no explanation! For those who are newer to the Heartland universe, though, Kerry James is the actor who plays the character of Caleb Odell. He is an Irish Canadian actor who was born in Saanich, Vancouver Island, in the year 1986. 

Kerry James has been a mainstay on the Heartland TV show since 2008 when he first appeared as Caleb in Season 2. This was also one of the first acting jobs he landed, which may be hard to believe because he brings so much passion and skill to his portrayal of Caleb Odell. Take a look below for some more fun facts about Kerry James, as well as about his Heartland character!

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Kerry Learned to Ride on the Heartland Set

Many of the actors from the Heartland cast have had past equestrian experience or been around horses. Kerry James, however, is not one of those people. He did not come to the set with lots of experience with horses, so he attended something called “cowboy camp” on set. During cowboy camp, he was taught the basics of being a cowboy, like horse riding and roping.

Kerry feels very lucky that he was brought on without having this experience, especially because his character also did not exist in the books that the TV series is based upon! Luckily, Kerry has done a fantastic job portraying Caleb and making the character a great addition to the show.

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Kerry James Found His Passion For Acting in High School

Kerry James became passionate about acting when he was a high school student. Actually, he was not a good student in high school, so he needed some extra credits to graduate and took drama to earn those credits. Luckily, he ended up loving it! 

Once he graduated, he moved to Vancouver and learned acting at the Vancouver Film School, even training under his mentor, Warren Robertson, who is a well-known acting coach. He worked hard on stage and then landed his role on Heartland soon after, which was kind of his big break and one of his first roles.

Playing Caleb in Heartland Was One of Kerry James’ First Acting Jobs

Kerry James went to acting school after high school, but then was doing odd jobs and waiting tables, doing construction work, and delivering furniture while he chased his big break. You’ve probably heard a similar story countless times with other actors! It was around this time that he landed the role of Caleb Odell in Heartland.

Kerry has said many times that getting the job to play Caleb was one of the best things that could have happened to his acting career. He says it was a crash course in acting, and that he was able to learn a lot on set from the cast and crew.

Kerry James Has Also Been Acting Outside of Heartland

Heartland is not the only credit Kerry James has under his belt! Like many other actors, he has branched out to play other roles, too, during his time on Heartland– after all, playing the same role for so long can sometimes go stagnant, or an actor may feel like they are too comfortable and need to challenge themselves. 

Some of the credits that Kerry has are Aliens In America, On the Other Hand, Death: A Donald Strachey Mystery, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, and Goodnight for Justice: Queen of Hearts.

Kerry James is Passionate About Writing

Once Kerry began to get more involved in the film industry and start to get the roles he was auditioning for, he started to develop a passion for screenwriting and writing scripts. He does not want to stick to acting forever– his dream is to, someday, direct a movie that he has also written the script for. 

Kerry James Loves Sports and Working Out

Kerry is very athletic, and is a natural athlete– after all, he was able to come onto the Heartland set with no equestrian experience and learn the ropes quickly! In high school, he actually trained with Chris Frehlick, who is a former Olympic volleyball player. Kerry also loves to spend time outside.

When he was a teen, Kerry also played basketball and even won the BC AAA High School Boys’ Provincial Championship back in 2003. These days, Kerry is still very serious about athletics, taking care of his body, and staying in shape. You know what they say– the body is a temple! When he is not busy on set, he uses some of his downtime to work out and engage in different sports like boxing and football. 

Does Kerry James Have a Wife?

Sometimes, we love our favorite celebrities so much that we are interested in what they do outside of work, too, and while they’re not on set! Seeing them on our screens in a movie or TV series makes it feel like we know them, not like they are strangers playing a character. So, you may be interested in some of the more personal details of Kerry James’ life– not the lift of the character he plays.

While Kerry James is very private, he currently does not have a wife or is not married. Some rumors say that he has had at least one serious partner previously, but as of right now, he is single. 

Kerry James is on Cameo

Many of the actors from Heartland– as well as other actors and celebrities– are on Cameo. What is Cameo, you may ask? It is an online platform where celebrities will create short, personalized videos for you in exchange for a donation. 

Kerry James is one of the actors that is on Cameo, so if you or a loved one is a huge fan of him or his character, this could be perfect to get you a special video– like a birthday wish or motivational speech!